


I Can't Hold Back

by Rina_Calavera



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bad day for everyone tbh, Blood, Blood and Injury, But oh boy he gets close, Cole is having a bad day :/, Hurt/Comfort, Kai is having a bad day :/, Mind Control, NO DEATH
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:15:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23216863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rina_Calavera/pseuds/Rina_Calavera
Summary: Cole can't stop himself when the Hypnobrai direct his movements, and Kai pays the price.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 88





	1. I Can't Fight It

It didn’t happen fast. It happened slowly – almost in slow motion – and there was nothing Cole could do about it.

To him, his body felt like he was moving through molasses; in the real world, there was no difference.

To him, he was screaming out that something was wrong; to the others, nothing was amiss.

His voice sounded cold and raspy as he obeyed his orders. “No one…no one leaves…” he droned. “Not without…going through…me.”

Kai stepped forward, shouting something to the others. Cole didn’t really hear him; he was too busy trying to freeze disobedient limbs.

_Please, Kai, no –_

The fire ninja jumped in without hesitation.

_Kai, run!_

He refused to aim the sharp edge of his katana at Cole; he blocked and dodged instead, shouting pleas at his teammate.

_Kai, I can’t stop, please, don’t let me –_

He dipped in close, barely holding Cole’s scythe back; it was only his inner turmoil, shaking his weapon, that kept him from pushing Kai to the ground.

_You’ve never beaten me in training, please –_

“Cole, it’s the Hypnobrai, you can fight this!”

_I can’t fight it, I’m trying, I can’t, PLEASE_

“Please, Cole, you have to fight!”

There’s a jerk in his movements. A flash of gold. A gasp.

And the ringing of a flute in his ears.

It leaves him on the ground, stunned.

“Kai?”

\------------------------------

It caught them all off guard.

One minute they were abandoning the treehouse, Jay muttering some choice words about brats and discipline, and the next…the next…

The next minute Kai was holding off a scythe with his golden katana, while Jay scrambled backwards in a panic.

“Cole, what’s going on?”

He jumped back to stare in disbelief at his teammate – at the red eyes and blank face he was sporting.

“No one…” Cole mumbled. “No one leaves…” He steadied his scythe in strangely clumsy hands. “Not without…going through…me…”

Kai shouted to Zane and Jay to get out quickly. Cole clearly wasn’t thinking straight, and they needed to make a quick escape.

He looked up to see the scythe’s imposing blade swinging towards him again.

He grunted and rolled out of the way – Cole might be slower right now, but slower for him meant going from deadly to dangerous.

“Cole, it’s the Hypnobrai!” Kai pleaded. “You can fight this!”

Silence made his blood run cold.

He kept up his defense, refusing to raise his sword at Cole. He could get through to him, he knew it – he just needed to shake that hypnosis off somehow. A strike from the scythe has him struggling to hold the weapon back.

Cole’s red-tinged eyes are inches from his.

“Please, Cole, you have to fight!”

There’s a flicker. The red fades, and Kai almost relaxes.

It surges back, and a searing pain rips into his side.

He falls to the ground with a cry, and a flute sounds in the air. He feels heavy and cold, and he closes his eyes, unable to fight their weight.

“Kai?”


	2. What Did I Do?

Weirdly enough, it wasn’t Kai’s injury that made Jay feel sick.

He supposed he had seen his friends and teammates injured often enough. It still made him upset, yeah, but…the nausea let up nowadays.

No…Kai’s injury didn’t make him feel sick at all.

But the look on Cole’s face? That made his stomach churn.

Kai had insisted on holding him off, shouting something about getting through to him.

Jay had foolishly followed his lead; Kai had been confident, if serious, and he was a reliable fighter. At the very least, his tenacity and ability to hit hard usually helped him make short work of fights.

But he’d never been able to beat Cole – not even on his best days.

Jay wished this had been the one exception.

He raced over to where Cole kneeled over the red ninja. His hair was gnarled his in hands as he stared at the damage his scythe had done. Jay carefully put a hand on Cole’s shoulder.

“Whoa!” He pulled his hand back quickly. “Cole?”

Cole stared up at him with wide brown eyes. “J-Jay?” He turned from Jay to Kai. His hands hovered over the red ninja, afraid to touch him. “Jay, I – he – Jay what did I,” Tears welled up in his eyes. “Jay what did I do?”

Jay’s words froze in his throat.

How could someone so strong look so small?

His eyes drifted down to Kai. He needed them right now – he couldn’t afford to have them falling apart.

“Buddy, I know you’re scared.” Jay took in a deep breath. “We gotta back up, and let Zane and Wu handle this, okay?” He tugged on Cole’s sleeve. “Come on, buddy.”

Cole wordlessly stood. He couldn’t tear his eyes off of the jagged rip in Kai’s gi – and the matching one that lay beneath.

\-------------------------

Zane raced to Kai as fast as he could.

Any other time, he’d have paused to check over Cole – but Kai needed serious help, and Cole would have to lean on Jay for now. Zane couldn’t afford to take his focus off of the red ninja.

He gently smacked Kai’s face with one hand while ripping his gi open with the other. “Kai? Kai, wake up!” He shook his head in concern.

Knees hit the dirt next to him; he ignored them to continue assessing the damage and cleaning the wound. Wu’s steady hands helped him maneuver the limp teen between them.

He ignored the muffled gasp behind him; he wrapped gauze tightly around Kai’s middle before rising to his feet with the red ninja in his arms. He looked to Nya and motioned to Flame. “You’ll need to steer us both to the monastery – quickly!” The gauze was tight, but Kai’s wound was serious – it would only hold him for so long.

Zane climbed onto Kai’s dragon with the red ninja in tow; Nya quickly took the reins and they took flight.

He spared one glance at the ground; Cole stood with Jay, staring after them.

“Hold on, Kai.”


	3. All Your Fault

Nya could only stare in shock at the smoldering ruins of the monastery.

“This isn’t…no.” She shook her head as they circled for a place to land among the rubble. “No, this can’t be happening.” Even amongst the remains of the monastery, feet on the ground, her disbelief continued.

Because it simply couldn’t be true; the monastery couldn’t be gone when Kai was bleeding out on Zane’s lap.

Zane struggled to keep a level head behind her. He quickly shot a shuriken at the dragon stable and called to Shard to subdue the flames. He stared at Kai’s pale face slumped against his shoulder. “I-I do not…I…oh Kai.” He didn’t have any ideas. The medical cot and first aid kit were gone. A sturdy roof was out of the question.

A piercing cry called his attention to the clouds.

Zane stared numbly at the falcon that landed before him. “Falcon?”

Nya turned to it with a sniff. “Wh-what’s that thing doing here?”

Zane considered it with cautious eyes. “It…it led me to the treehouse.” Nya’s face turned venomous.

“It’s that thing’s fault that my brother could –“

Zane held up a hand to her. “No! I think it can help us.” He glanced down at the limp form in his lap. “I think it can help Kai.”

Nya glared at it. “How?”

“I do not know.” He admitted. “But I do know that we need only follow.”

Nya mounted the dragon and took the reins again as the falcon took flight.

“I hope you’re right, Zane.”

\-----------------------

Cole’s heart dropped out of his chest.

“Wh,” the word drifted away with the lingering ash of the main hall. “I,”

Jay sank to his knees. “It…it’s gone. It’s all gone.”

Cole turned to him, wide eyes brimming with tears again. “Jay, where are Zane and Nya?”

Jay looked up at him with confusion. “What?”

Cole could feel a tightening in his chest. “Where’s Kai? They went ahead – they should have been here, where are they?”

Jay sprang to his feet. Cole’s face was a sickening pale – he looked like he was about to fall over, and then they’d both be in trouble. “Sit – sit down, buddy,” He asked, “Please. You’ve gotta slow down your breathing.”

Cole couldn’t understand why his chest hurt so bad. Why the air tasted metallic and dry, why it hurt every time he gasped in another breath. He didn’t particularly care to find out – whatever he was feeling, Kai was feeling worse.

Oh First Master…Kai.

Zane and Nya were supposed to help him.

As Jay worried about getting him to calm down, Cole’s mind reeled.

Kai’s face had looked surprised, at first.

Surprised and hurt.

Kai wasn’t supposed to look hurt. He looked angry or determined…not hurt.

They were supposed to bring him here. To help him at the monastery.

He was so pale. His tanned skin looked gray. It looked wrong.

If they weren’t here, where could they be? How could Kai –

Would he even survive?

Cole only knew one thing; this was all his fault.


	4. I Can Breathe

Miles away, Nya finally took a moment to breathe.

She stubbornly refused to look at her hands – they were far too red at the moment.

She glared at the falcon. It had perched in the window when they’d arrived and hadn’t moved.

“I still blame you.” She growled.

It tilted its head in response. Nya huffed and moved to the basin in the corner of the room. “Zane?” She called. His voice rang out from the hall. “Do you think you can bring me some water?” She needed to get her hands clean. Now.

As she waited on the nindroid, she stared quietly at the room around her. The wood was a warm brown color, trimmed in red. The room itself was modestly sized; it might have been a first mate’s cabin once upon a time.

How on earth did a ship wind up in the middle of the desert?

It was half buried in the sand when they arrived.

She and Zane had just gone straight for the first room they could get into, but now… Now Kai was sleeping on a counter across the room, finally stable and okay. Somehow, Zane had even rigged an emergency IV from his medkit. His face was still too pale for her liking – they’d found old blankets in the ship’s hold to keep him warm, but he’d need a blood transfusion sooner rather than later – but he was okay. He was breathing.

It gave her mind – and her body – time to wander.

For something so old, it was in beautiful shape.

While the outside was sandblasted from time in the desert, the inside was beautifully painted with vibrant reds and golds. She wandered through the ship aimlessly cataloguing the workmanship.

She smiled at the ancient captain’s log that gave its name.

“The Destiny’s Bounty…”


	5. You Can Breathe

Cole didn’t know how long they’d sat here.

His guilty tears had long since dried up, leaving behind red eyes and a sore throat. He and Jay were sat back to back, surrounded by the ruins of their home.

“I,”

“It’s still not your fault, you know.”

Cole stared up at the sky. “I hurt him, Jay. I – it was my weapon, my hands.”

Jay leaned heavily on his friend. “It was the Hypnobrai’s powers. Their instructions.” He let out a shaky breath. “Their control.”

“My hands.”

“Not your choice.”

Cole let the silence hang out in the air with the swirling ash of the monastery. A weight on his legs broke him out of his trance. Rocky leaned into him with a rumbling croon, massive head threatening to crush his limbs. He reached out a hand to run over the dragon’s scales. The dragon sat up with a growl, and they all heard the low rumble of an engine.

Jay scrambled to his feet, staring at the sky. “What on earth is that?”

Cole stared with him, confused. “It…it’s a ship?”

Its hull was bright red wood, flanked by purring engines. The sails practically shone with the sun.

And there, hanging on a rope holding the sails steady, was Nya. Smiling.

Cole’s heart skipped a beat.

Nya was smiling – she wasn’t crying, wasn’t angry – she was smiling. She was smiling and hanging off of a flying ship and jumping off to ride the anchor down as it fell, calling them to join her –

That meant something, right?

As Cole made his way onto the ship in a daze, Nya caught the question he couldn’t ask.

“Don’t worry Cole, Kai’s fine.” She smiled. “Needed to make a quick stop at Ninjago City General, but he’s okay.”


End file.
